{{Short description|Brand of mint candy made by Hershey's}} {{Infobox brand | name = Breath Savers | logo = | logo_size = | image = Breathsavers-Peppermint.jpg |image_size = 200 | alt = A pack of Peppermint Breath Savers | caption = Flavored mints available in Peppermint, Wintergreen, Spearmint, and Cinnamon. | producttype = Mint (candy) | currentowner = The Hershey Company | producedby = The Hershey Company | origin = | introduced = {{start date and age|1973}} | discontinued = | related = | markets = United States | previousowners = E. R. Squibb | trademarkregistrations = | ambassadors = | tagline = Break Open The Breath Savers <br /> A Mint with More | website = {{URL|https://www.hersheyland.com/breath-savers}} }} '''Breath Savers''' is a brand of mint manufactured by the Hershey Company.

== History == Breath Savers were introduced in 1973 by the Life Savers Company, a division of E.R. Squibb, in limited areas, and were originally sugared. The brand became a national brand in 1978 when it replaced sugar with saccharin and became sugar-free from then on. Nabisco acquired the Life Savers Company from E.R. Squibb in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/13/business/nabisco-brands-to-buy-life-savers.html|title=NABISCO BRANDS TO BUY LIFE SAVERS|date=November 13, 1981|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> In 2000, after its merger with Kraft Foods, Nabisco sold its gum and breath mint business to Hershey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/11/06/deals/hershey/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020604202450/http://money.cnn.com/2000/11/06/deals/hershey/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 4, 2002|title=Hershey gets Nabsico units - Nov. 6, 2000|website=money.cnn.com}}</ref>

== Ingredients == The main ingredient found in Breath Savers is sorbitol, a sugar alcohol containing one-third the calories of sugar and which is 60 percent the sweetness of sugar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foodinsight.org/what-is-sorbitol/|title=What is Sorbitol?|date=April 18, 2019}}</ref> In addition to sorbitol, Breath Savers also contains small amounts of aspartame and natural flavors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://smartlabel.hersheys.com/00034000007646-0005|title=BREATH SAVERS - Mints - SmartLabel™|website=smartlabel.hersheys.com}}</ref>

Breath Savers have also begun advertising some of their mints to contain sodium bicarbonate, an alkaline salt used in many personal hygiene products as a mechanical cleanser on the teeth and gums. It also neutralizes the production of acid in the mouth, and acts as an antiseptic to help prevent infections.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=16540196 | doi=10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2005.08.033|title=Virucidal efficacy of sodium bicarbonate on a food contact surface against feline calicivirus, a norovirus surrogate|year=2006|last1=Malik|first1=Y|last2=Goyal|first2=S|journal=International Journal of Food Microbiology|volume=109|pages=160–3|issue=1–2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|pmid=18396809|year=2007|last1=Zamani|first1=M|last2=Sharifi Tehrani|first2=A|last3=Ali Abadi|first3=AA|title=Evaluation of antifungal activity of carbonate and bicarbonate salts alone or in combination with biocontrol agents in control of citrus green mold|volume=72|issue=4|pages=773–7|journal=Communications in Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences}}</ref>

==See also== * Life Savers * Polo Mints * List of breath mints

==References== <references />

==External links== *[https://www.hersheyland.com/breath-savers Breath Savers official web site] *[http://www.slate.com/id/109002/ Slate magazine review of common breath mints (including Breath Savers)]

{{Hershey}}

Category:Breath mints Category:American confectionery Category:Brand name confectionery Category:Products introduced in 1973 Category:The Hershey Company brands

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